Excellence in Casting: All Fall Down

Male enough to attract a dozen women...not man enough to be faithful to one!

I first saw the 1962 drama All Fall Down last year on TCM.  I've been meaning to post about the film since.  This week seemed the perfect time.  First off, there was a lot of press last week for the 100th birthday of one of the film's stars, Eva Marie Saint.  Secondly, TCM is running the film again this Thursday.  If you haven't seen it, I highly recommend you check it out.

Prior to getting over my distain for old movies, especially black and white films, I wasn't really a fan of actor Warren Beatty.  Growing up in the 80's, the only Beatty films I saw were the ones my parents rented on VHS.  As a kid, I couldn't sit through Reds, Ishtar or Bugsy, and although I made it through Dick Tracy, I didn't love it.  Thanks to TCM however, I've grown to love many of many of his films and appreciate what a stunning man, and talented actor he was and is.

In All Fall Down, Beatty was both incredibly hot, and incredibly unlikable.  He was also really great as troubled son Berry-Berry who mistreats almost everyone he encounters, including his family.  Berry-Berry is hot, and he knows it, and he uses his looks and charisma to use and abuse several women he encounters throughout the film.

The casting director deserves an award for this film.  In addition to Beatty, the entire cast including; Eva Marie Saint, Carl Malden and Brandon Wilde all put in high caliber performances.  I first developed a crush on Wilde after seeing him int he Paul Newman movie Hud.  I previously featured him on the site HERE:

Angela Lansbury is as always a stand out as Annabell Willart, mother to Berry-Berry and his younger brother Clinton. (Wilde)  Although she's playing much older, Lansbury was only in her thirties while shooting the film.  That would have made her only about 10 years older than Beatty who played her son.

There are no scenes of male skin in the film, but the film is beautifully shot, and Beatty's beautiful face and body more than make up for it.  So does the story and the family dysfunction so skillfully written, directed and performed.   If you're in need of a little Beatty skin, you can check out my previous posts on FH HERE: